Two is Better Than One
by Emily Hunt Swanson
Summary: Twins are strictly forbbiden in the herd for untold reasons, and while current Lord of the Herd Greer grows more Tyrannical, and one set of twins stands a chance of survival, will it be for the better or the worse? Please R&R! Rated T for saftey.


**Hello fellow FB fans. wow, I can't believe how few fanfics there are... yikes. Anyway, I would like to introduce myself. Hello, my name is Emily Swanson and I like fried chicken, even though I am a vegetarian. Yes, it's true. Now, beware of random outbursts!!! Oh, and btw if you read warriors, read my other fanfics, and if you read the sight/fell, i possibly have a fanfic coming soon. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE _REVIEW!!!!!! _It only takes a minute, and I'll appreciate it! Thanks!**

_Part One_

_Chapter 1: The Calving_

_Maeve felt the familiar kick in her stomach, _and wondered when her time would be. She was two times larger than any of the other hinds, and growing twice as fast. She already suspected twins, and didn't think she could take if she got much larger. A ferocious appetite left her always craving more food, and she could barley walk as it was. As she thought about the knew life growing inside of her, her thoughts wondered back to her stag, Loc. Well, he wasn't exactly her stag, more she was one of his hinds, but she had always thought of him as hers, as she had loved him deeply. They had known each other as fawns, in fact they had been best friends. He was easily one of the finest stag in the heard, and many hinds wanted him. Well, he used to be, but he had been killed off by Greer, the aging leader. Another kick brought her back to reality and she huffed in frustration. It happened constantly and also could hurt horribly. She flopped down in the middle of the grazing group of hinds.

"Maeve, are you okay?" Asked Jayla, a good friend of Maeve's.

"Yes," sighed Maeve, standing up "I'm fine, just a couple kicks."

"It's going to be soon, you know. The other hinds and I will soon give birth, and you'll most likely be before them," Coaxed Jayla, leaning down to give Maeve a lick on the head.

"I know, and I can't wait. But the other hinds tell me it will be painful."

"And so it will be. But what should I know? I haven't borne a fawn of my own before, but it'll be coming soon." Jayla gave her swollen stomach a glance, the and the corners of her mouth twitched into a sunny smile.

"I want them to come now!" groaned Maeve, flopping down dramatically as she braced for another kick.

"Who knows," snorted Jayla, "Maybe they will be."

"I wish!"

"Well, you won't have to wait long. And yes, I too, have felt the unbearable, skin tearing, bone breaking kicks of the weak, helpless infant fawns! Honestly, Maeve, it's not that bad, now stop overreacting."

"You're right. It's not that bad, and I think it will be worth it."

"Of course it's worth it! Now I'm going to see how Nadia is. You've heard about her, haven't you?"

"What do you mean? What's to hear?"

"She had her fawn fourteen suns ago, remember? Fatima's still not sure if it will make it, but if it survives over the next few suns, she said it may have a good chance."

"Oh, yeah, I remember now. Last I saw her was… Now that I think about it I can't remember the last time I saw her. It had to be seasons ago," confessed Maeve.

"Yeah, probably. After your big fight-" blurted Jayla

"What was that about anyway?" wondered Maeve.

"Honestly? I can't remember. We were all young and stupid then, only our third year," Admitted Jayla.

"Well, that _was_ only a year ago, so if we were young and stupid then, we probably still are."

"Most likely. Well, I should be going. Want to come with?"

"Of course!"

And with that, the two hinds marched down the great hill toward a wide-eyed hind suckling a premature, undersized stag. Maeve felt a bit of apprehension, well, maybe more than a little. Maybe enough to call fright, with an aching hope beneath, because she had just remembered what the fight had been over. The loathing and fiery friction had begun with a stag, Loc to be exact. They had both wanted him, and had both gotten him, but both thought to be his favorite. They fought and went round and round and ended up in attacking each other, and had been enemies ever since. Maeve felt chills run through her as she remembered those sharp teeth, malicious gaze, and thud of hooves hitting her in the stomach, causing them both to lose their precious cargo of life that year. _But this year, _thought Maeve, _This year shall make up for it, for I shall have two fawns by my side._ She did think of Nadia, though, and felt herself sicken. Nadia had only one fawn that was fighting for it's life harder than any other fawn, while Maeve may have two healthy hinds or stags. It seemed unfair, but Maeve felt oddly satisfied, as if getting her revenge. She quickly pushed the feeling away. _Perhaps I will give Nadia one of my fawns, if hers doesn't live, _she reasoned, but then laughed to herself. Would she really give a fawn to Nadia, who caused the death of her first before it was even born? She already knew the answer to her question: no. She snorted once more and turned her back as she neared Nadia, who had a most disgusted look on her face.

"Well if it isn't _you_," sneered Nadia in a particularly nasty tone of voice.

"Well, if it _isn't _me, then who would it be?" Maeve whirled back around, but accidentally tumbled over and landed in an ungraceful flop on the ground.

Nadia stifled a snicker as Maeve stood back up awkwardly and shook herself a bit.

"I don't know who it would be. I just didn't recognize you with that giant stomach."

"Cut it out, you guys. It's been over four seasons. Please don't fight like this," pleaded Jayla.

"Fine, but I'll only spare her for you Jayla, and for the unborn fawns growing inside of her," announced Nadia, rolling her eyes, "But, the threat could still stand, so if I were you, Maeve, I would be going."

Maeve didn't need to be asked twice, for Nadia was not her favorite companion, and she would have liked to leave her behind, but she wanted to see her calf first.

"Nadia," she asked as sweetly as she could manage, "Could I see your calf?"

Nadia sighed, for she really was soft at heart. "Sure, come see little Alyx."

Maeve ventured over and looked at the fawn curled at Nadia's belly. He was beautiful, even if a little small, and Maeve wondered how big he would grow. As she looked at his fine features she saw something of Loc in them, which made her smile a bit inwardly. She hoped the little calf would survive, even if Nadia did get on her nerves.

"Thank you, Nadia," she whispered.

"Forget it," mumbled Nadia. Suddenly Maeve felt a horrible pain, and she plopped down and began braying, calling for the old nurse Fatima or any other hind to aid her. The pain seared through her and she began squirming, waiting for it to be over.

"Don't squirm or you'll hurt the fawns!" warned Jayla, rushing over to her friend who lay panting on the ground, great ripples passing through her belly. "It'll be okay, just don't fight it."

Maeve would have answered, but the pain was unbearable and she couldn't. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to concentrate on other things, failing, of course. The pain seemed endless and everlasting, worse than Maeve could have imagined, and she begged for air while her unborn calves were begging to come into the world. Maeve could feel the ripples moving through her stomach and wished it would end, but even more so she wished Loc was with her. Her heart ached and she knew she could never enjoy another Analach, for thoughts of him would haunt her forever more. As she felt the new life stir, she thought fondly of her own mother, Taryn, and the way she spoke of her mother, Willow.

Maeve looked down at the little hinds and smiled weakly. They were beautiful. Instead of the normal reddish color, their fur in between the snowy spots was a shiny gold, and the only difference between them was one flyaway spot on the back leg of her first born. Their sweet little tails wagged furiously as they fed on their mothers milk and the nurturing liquid satisfied their growling stomachs, but as Maeve looked at the infant calves she realized she had no idea what to call them, and not only that, but she remembered a meeting five seasons ago, and the thought of it chilled her a bit. No, not a bit, it chilled her to the bone. Marrow. She rembered the words spoken by Greer, the current but aging lord of the herd.

"Now, I know that it's unusual, but every once in a while one of you hinds calves twins. That is unacceptable. Every deer in the herd should be unique, so I'm afraid one of the calves will have to go away. We can't have copies of each other running around. It's to confusing."

Every hind had gasped, for they all knew what "go away" meant. Maeve drew in a sharp breath, knowing that she had to do something, for soon enough one of the fawns lives would be in jeopardy. She knew Jayla had the same thought, for she was giving Maeve a horrified look. Maeve hung her head in defeat, for what was to be done? _Nothing, _she thought,_ Unless… _Suddenly she had an idea. If she could hide one of the fawns, then Greer wouldn't know about it. And then one day, when the fawns were old enough, she would flee, for she knew that Greer was growing more like the tyrannical leaders from the past she had often heard about, Drail and Sgorr. _But how will I hide it? Most hinds haven't had their calves yet, and still born ones usually are the ones that are late, or sometimes to early, so I couldn't give away my fawn like Elion did. _Eloin, a truly loving mother. She had hid her fawn from the deadly attention of Drail all those years ago, and because of it Rannoch the Great lived on to fulfill the prophecy. She thought of the stories she had hears about her from her own mother, and how Taryn had told her that she was even related to Rannoch and Eloin herself, for Taryn had been Rannoch's daughter. _Rannoch, _she thought, _what a fine name. If I had a stag I'd most certainly call him that._ She frowned in frustration, for she still had not figured out an answer. _Maybe if I just hid it in the bushes or something…_ she snorted. That would _never _work. Another thought struck her, though. _What of Morra? She had a miscarriage. I bet she would take one, and I could nurse it for her. _It was an excellent idea. She whispered her plan to Jayla who nodded her approval and went to ask Morra, who she knew would take pity on an innocent fawn. _But before I do that, I'd better name them._ She looked at the one with the extra spot. Her beautiful, shimmering golden coat reminded her of sunshine she had seen pouring in on a cave wall after suns of rain.

"Echo" she decided. She then looked at the other, the tiny replica of her sister. She turned her attention to the other "Velouria" She closed her eyes for a moment, opening them only to scoot into the bushes, which would keep the trio concealed for the moment. Suddenly she heard a familiar voice.

"Well, she was here a moment ago," Jayla frowned in frustration, for the hinds were nowhere in sight.

"Over here, in the bushes!" called Maeve. Jayla stuck her head in.

"Greer's bound to be here soon, so if I were you…" began Jayla.

"I know, Jayla, but I just don't think I can. I love them both so much, how am I going to give one up? And I know Greer knows I was going to have twins; how am I going to explain a single fawn? And plus, he probably knows that Morra had a miscarriage. And-"

"Oh just shut up! _If_ Greer has the nerve to ask, tell him you don't want to talk about it, then _I'll_ tell him it was a stillborn. Just be touch on the subject, Okay? And I seriously doubt he can keep up with all the hinds who are expecting calves, so chill," Jayla reassured Maeve in her odd way.

"Yes but when they get older…"

Jayla's eyes softened a bit. "You know how Greer's been lately, just like in the old stories. There are even rumors about him plotting to kill _all _the outriders, since he already got rid of a few…" she paused as Maeve looked away despondently, "Anyway, I'll want to flee sooner or later, and you'll have to."

"Just like Eloin and Rannoch."

"Exactly. Now hurry up! Which fawn do you want to give… trust to… lend to… Morra."

"I don't know! I just… I don't know. Choose for me!"

"This one." Jayla nosed the youngest. "What's her name?"

Maeve looked at her tiny daughter, her tiny Velouria. As dear to her as her She was every bit as dear to her as her sister, Echo. The two beautiful hinds' coats shimmered, and Maeve shut her big eyes sadly. It had to be done sometime. Plus, she would get to see her all the time, as she had to feed her.

"Velouria is her name. And the other ones Echo."

"Those are beautiful names," a soft voice piped up behind Jayla, "For two beautiful fawns. What striking coats they have! Like sunshine."

"Ahh! Morra! You're standing on my hoof!" complained Jayla.

"Sorry. So, why don't you feed her till she's full, and then I'll take her," suggested Morra.

Maeve's heart sank. She didn't think she could do it, not for anything. She wanted to run and leave it all behind, wish none of it had ever happened. For she knew after a few days Morra's milk would come again if Velouria suckled at all, and then Velouria would have to grow up not knowing Maeve was her mother, and Maeve may never see her, for Greer had been taking control over the hinds, splitting them into random groups to minimize the chance of fleeing. She knew they would be divided soon. She gave one last lick to Velouria's fur before laying down her head wondering how much time she had left with the little fawn.

**Thanks for reading!! And I meant to ask you, what do ya think of the names? Are they fire-bringerish enough? Thanks!**


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